Duffy takes eighth in pole vault at Nationals for sole North Andover highlight

Wednesday

Mar 15, 2017 at 10:34 PMMar 17, 2017 at 10:16 PM

By Graham Mirmina / Correspondent

North Andover’s high school track and field track team had the chance to showcase their skills at the New Balance High School Indoor Nationals this past weekend.

Head coach Steve Nugent called this year’s trip "another great memory for some talented boys."

Nugent noted his team wasn’t content just to make it to New York City, home of the Nationals, and that they were determined to perform their best. Unfortunately, their lofty expectations of experiencing immense success were not met.

"It’s very hard to peak at the right time and have your last performance be your best one," said Nugent. "Although the boys were disappointed, I can’t say enough about their character and level of competitiveness."

North Andover worked hard throughout season and accomplished many great things, with Nugent pointing out that this weekend’s performance will not overshadow any of it.

The boys shuttle hurdle team of Bassel ElBetanony, Camren Twomey, Connor Grant and senior Erick Duffy set a school record and set a Massachusetts state record in the shuttle hurdles at Division 2 state relays.

"They created a memory that will last them a lifetime," said Nugent.

The North Andover 4x200 relay team also competed at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, finishing 40th in its division. This team consisted of Trevor Nassar, Stephen Stabile, Matthew Manteiga and Tyler Glendon.

In the pole vault, Duffy placed eighth in the country, just missing All-American status by two places. This came after Duffy suffered a laceration just above his eye in the second week of February, a cut that needed 18 stitches to be closed up.

Duffy spent the next two weeks in Spain on the school’s Spanish Exchange trip. Upon returning a week before Nationals, he was only able to get in one night of pole vault practice. He finished at Nationals with a top clearance of 16-feet-1.25-inches.

Nugent called Duffy’s performance "remarkable," saying, "He is as talented as they come and if he can stay healthy, he’s going to help our team in many different areas this spring. I can’t wait!"

"Nationals was a very fun time and I enjoyed my time in NYC," said Duffy. "However, the competition did not go as well as I had wanted."

In the hurdles relay, Duffy admitted that the team did not run as well as they hoped.

Although there was no blame on any specific person, they aim to examine the race as a whole and work out the kinks to get ready for the next time they race it.

During the pole vault, Duffy was "somewhat unhappy" with his performance because he knew he could have done better.

"It was just not my day," he said. "This meet and my result in it just makes me want to get back to practice and start progressing. I can’t wait to see how my outdoor season goes and I am going to work my hardest to make sure it goes well."

Duffy referred to the experience of competing in two events on the same day as interesting yet enjoyable.

"The hurdle relay felt like a good way to wake up my body and get me ready to compete, not only for hurdles but for pole vault as well," added Duffy.

Going forward, Duffy’s goal for hurdles is to qualify for the Shuttle Hurdle relay at Outdoor Nationals (in Greensboro, N.C.) with his team. For pole vault, he wishes to break the 17-foot barrier and place in the top six at Nationals.

"It is always a pleasure and honor to compete against the best people in the nation," said Duffy. "Just because things did not go as planned at this meet, doesn’t mean my team and I will just let that defeat us."